My players can't be faulted for their endeavour and will to win, says Manson as Wick prepare for Lossie trip
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Wick Academy manager Gary Manson is confident that a couple of tactical tweaks and a little more creativity in the final third can provide the basis for a first win of the Highland League campaign when the Scorries travel to Lossiemouth on Saturday.
Manson’s side looked to be on course for three points last weekend after coming from behind to lead against Clachnacuddin. But the Lilywhites equalised against the run of play with a couple of minutes remaining and Academy were forced to settle for a third score draw in as many outings.
The manager believes that sooner rather than later the breaks will start going Wick’s way and he says the players will be approaching the game at Grant Park with the same positive outlook as in their previous fixtures.
“On Saturday the performance level wasn't as bad as the result might suggest,” Manson said. “It maybe wasn't quite as good as in the first two games but by no means was it a poor performance.
“I thought parts of it were very good but perhaps in the final third we were lacking a little bit of spark, a little bit of creativity maybe, and we didn't create the amount of chances we had done in the first couple of games.
“We dominated the ball, we dominated the territorial side of things, we were camped in their half for large parts of the game. Like I say, we just maybe lacked a bit of spark, that bit of imagination, to break down quite a packed defence.
“I said to the boys we couldn't fault their endeavour and their will to win. That's all three games now that at some stage we've come from behind and shown good character, so you can't fault them in that regard.
“But hopefully one of these games we'll start to get the breaks. Their equaliser at the end was just a freak goal.”
Manson hopes that after drawing with Forres Mechanics (1-1), Strathspey Thistle (3-3) and then Clach, Academy can go one better against Lossie.
“We'll be approaching it in the same way and with the same mindset,” the manager said. “We go out to win every single game that we play in.
“There are a couple of little tweaks that we've worked on this week, just different things that we're asking the boys to do. But apart from that we'll just dust ourselves down from last weekend, go again and try to get that first win.”
Lossie had a confidence-boosting 4-2 victory over Nairn County in the first round of the North of Scotland Cup before gaining their first league point in a 2-2 draw with Inverurie Locos.
“I'm expecting a young, enthusiastic team,” Manson said. “Possibly they won't have the experience of other teams in the Highland League but they'll be full of energy, they'll be full of running, and they have proved that they can be dangerous on their day.
“We'll be going down there to win but we do need to be wary of the threats they will pose. By no means will it be an easy game but we're certainly looking for three points.”
Experienced frontman Davie Allan, who scored within a couple of minutes of coming off the bench against Clach, could be in contention for a starting place after recovering from an injury he picked up in pre-season.
Manson said: “Davie came through Saturday fine, he trained perfectly, and he'll be champing at the bit for a start. I'll just need to weigh up the options and make a decision on that.”
Wick Academy boss Gary Manson said he had sympathy for Tommy Wilson and Andy Roddie after the duo quit as Keith co-managers in the wake of Saturday’s 10-0 pummelling at Buckie Thistle.
Wilson said it wasn't a snap decision after the heaviest defeat of his football career, as the writing had been on the wall after a difficult start to the campaign for the Kynoch Park club.
"It has been there for a wee while now,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t take getting beaten 10-0, it was a hard one to accept, so it was time to move on.”
"You could see heavy defeats coming. It’s no surprise to me but you don’t see a 10 and your own personal pride takes a dunt as well when you are a part of that.
"It was a shocking result but there were a lot of players missing and it was a young, young team.”
Academy have a midweek trip to Kynoch Park coming up later this month.
Manson said: “I know them both, and certainly in his playing days Tommy Wilson more often than not played at the top end of the Highland League – so he certainly wouldn't have been used to being on the receiving end of a 10-0 beating.
“Reading their quotes, it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction – it was something they had been thinking.
“It's never easy going into a new job, and Keith are one of those teams that are going through a bit of a transitional period with a lot of young boys in their squad, so I have every sympathy for them.
“Getting beaten 10-0 is not something I've ever had but I can't imagine it would be nice.”
Keith's director of football Michael Brown has taken over as interim manager.
The Keith management duo lost their vice-captain Ryan Spink to Formartine United over the summer and club record goalscorer Cammy Keith announced his retirement from football, while several other players moved on.
